from scratch baking and cooking blog

Category Archives: Pastries

My husband and I just returned from Topsail Island. One of our favorite places to go is Sugar Island Bakery. They have beautiful pastries and adorable local crafty gifts and jelwery.

This bakery makes fresh goodies daily. One of the pastries that has intrigued me the last few years is a Kuchen. The baker had a blueberry kuchen in the shop showcase when we went on Friday.

On our way home from Topsail we always stop at Mountain Man Orchard and pick up 2 bushels of freshly picked Virgina grown peaches.

Funny story my husband and I found this gem of a farmer’s market, Mountain Man Orchard, when we got lost about 4 years ago. At the time he was not happy we got lost but now we cherish the moment. This pit stop is now an anticipated tradition to stop at the market our way home from the beach. The destination is actually halfway from Topsail to our home.

Every year we buy more and more goodies. This year they even had muscadine grapes! A new found love! They also have my sisters favorite honey.

This recipe yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 TB cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup fat free half and half

1 egg

1 3/4 cup sliced fresh peaches

For the Custard Cream topping

1/2 cup fat free half and half

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek Yogurt

2 teaspoon whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup raw sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch kosher salt

Necessary tools:

9″ Springform pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9″ springform pan with cooking spray, set aside.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cardamon in a mixing bowl and stir well with a whisk.
3. Cut the cold butter into the flour to incorporate to blend well until it becomes a sandlike texture.

4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk fat free half and half and egg. Pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork just until it becomes wet. Spread the batter on the bottom of the pan greased springform pan.

5. Arrange the peach slices on top. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

6. While the bottom part of the dish bake, make the custard topping. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup of half & half with flour and whisk together to remove flour particles. Add the rest of the half and half, sugar, Greek yogurt, egg, vanilla, and salt. Whisk well to thoroughly mix.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and pour the custard mixture on top. Place the cake back in the oven and reduce the heat to 350˚F. Continue to bake for 35-40 minutes.

8. When the cake edges are deep golden and starting to separate from the pan, the cake is done. Remove from oven. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on wire rack, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely.

Tomorrow is Administrative Professional’s Day and I wanted to honor our department’s secretary by baking her some brownies. One of her favorite sweets is chocolate. There is no better way to satisfy a sweet tooth for chocolate other than rich chocolate brownies.

Yesterday my husband and I went downtown to the strip district, bottom line my favorite place to bike and market shop in the warmer months. One of my favorite kitchen stores had a popover pan half off. Yahtzee only $10.99! I was so excited, I’ve been wanting a popover pan for 2 years. Today, I had to make something with it! Savory or sweet decisions, decisions. I debated for a while but after pruning the brushes and doing yard work yesterday I noticed my rhubarb plants were starting to grow. They reminded me I have a few frozen bags of rhubarb in the freezer.

These tasty little bites are not too sweet, in fact just right. I used my grandfathers apples leftover from his orchard last year ( I have been savoring them). I was cleaning out the refrigerator and noticed I was stock piling up on crescent rolls. Apparently I did not do inventory very well last time I went to the grocery store. This is a great way to use up some of the extra inventory. Plus I got to use my new pampered chef brownie pan again !!!

2. Take a medium sized nonstick saute pan and heat to medium low heat. Cooking spray the pan and add the diced apples and cinnamon.

Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes while the apples caramelize.

3. In the meantime take the crescent roll package and lay out the dough on cutting board. Seam together two of the crescent each making 4 rectangles. Once 4 rectangles are formed cut into 8 squares. As pictured below.

4. Take the squares and place them individually in the pan. Press the dough lightly down to form a vessel for the caramelized apples.

5. Add a TB and a half of the Caramelized apples into each vessel.

6. In a small bowl combine cinnamon sugar, flour and butter. Run the butter through your fingers with the sugar and flour to break into small particles.

For the love of apples and the fall. This is a quick and easy tart you can put together in a pinch. I am trying to use my large bountiful supply of my grandfathers homegrown apples. I have already made several baked goods, applesauce, apple butter, and not to mention eating one raw everyday. I needed a quick recipe for a work meeting. I always try and bake a goodie for our quarterly meetings. I have a strong belief “if you bake something delicious they will come”. So far it seems to work!

Ingredients:

1/2 Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup AP Flour

1 Cup of Quick Oats

1/4 Tsp of baking soda

1/2 Cup of Canola Oil

2/3 cup of brown sugar (not packed)

Apple Filling:

2 Cups of shredded Apples (at least two large apples shredded (not peeled that is where all the “good stuff” is))

2 TB of sugar

2 tsp of cinnamon (Vietnamese is my favorite )

1 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp mace

1 TB of apple cider

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place parchment paper inside of tart pan (or a 9 by 9 pan) and spray with cooking spray to coat the pan.

2. Place filling ingredients in microwave safe bowl and microwave in one minute intervals string after each minute (your house will smell amazing). Set aside.

3. Place all the dry ingredients for topping in a medium bowl mix with whisk until combine.

4. Take a heaping cup of the crumb mixture and press it into the bottom of the tart pan.

5. Once the bottom is pressed evenly add the apple topping on to the crust and spread evenly with spatula .

6. Once the filling is spread evenly sprinkle the remainder of the crumb topping on dish.

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until crumble topping is golden brown. Let completely cool on wire rack before cutting into.

My husband and I went to our local farmer’s market yesterday after our bike ride. We bought their homegrown zucchini in bulk. I love baking with zucchini. I made these this morning for my 19 month nephew. He loves his vegetables! Hopefully he will love these too!

My grandpa gave me fresh rhubarb from his garden this past weekend. I couldn’t wait to use it. I love baking with rhubarb!! I have made rhubarb muffins, rhubarb cupcakes, rhubarb bars, rhubarb pancakes but never have I made shortbread using rhubarb. We had a very special birthday in the office today so I researched for a new rhubarb recipe to try and when I came across this recipe for Rhubarb Shortbread I had to give it a whirl. This recipe was adapted from a recipe on PBS’s website http://www.pbs.org/food/kitchen-vignettes/rhubarb-cardamom-shortbread-bars/. The original recipe called for a few different ingredients so I switched it up slightly since I didn’t have spelt flour , cane sugar, nor did I have red wine on hand.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 Cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 Cup AP Flour

A pinch of salt

1 Teaspoon of baking soda

2 Teaspoon of ground cardamom

2 sticks of butter (unsalted and brought to room temperature)

1 Cup of Sugar

2 Egg Yolks

Baking dish needed: 10 inch tart pan

Rhubarb Compote:

2 Cups of Rhubarb Chopped

1/2 cup Strawberries chopped

1/3 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Water

1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla

Directions for the Dough:

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter until fluffy.

3. Add the eggs yolks one at a time and sugar and mix well.

4. Add the dry ingredients ingredients and combine the two until a soft dough has formed.

5. Form the dough into two balls, make sure to form one larger than the other.

Wrap the dough in plastic cling wrap and place in freezer for 30 to 45 minutes. them for a minimum of 30 minutes.

6. For the Compote: Place a 2 quart sauce pan on low heat, add water, sugar, strawberries, rhubarb into the pan. Make sure to stir often. Add the sauce to come to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low continue to stir often.

7. Remove from heat after thickened and stir in the vanilla. Place the compote in a freezer safe bowl and sit on ice in the freezer for at least 30 to 45 minutes to cool completely.

8. Preheat oven to 350. Once compote is cooled get the larger piece of dough out of the freezer and start to grate with larger holes on a grater directly into a Pam Sprayed 10 inch tart pan.

9. Pat down the dough into the pan lightly.

10. Spread the rhubarb compote over the first layer of dough evenly. MAKE sure to leave a least a half inch from the perimeter to prevent leaking on the outside.

11. Now take out the second dough ball and grate over the top of the rhubarb compote.

12. Pat down the dough very lightly. You will still see some compote poking through but it is okay.

13. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 until the entire top is evenly golden brown.

14. Allow the pan to cool completely before cutting into this delightful treat.